


Peonies and Ocean Tides

by finwritesthings



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, M/M, Shance Flower Exchange 2018, Shiro is bad at flirting, Wiccan Lance, also presumptions about what it means to be wiccan, lance is a practicing wiccan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 03:39:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14511732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finwritesthings/pseuds/finwritesthings
Summary: Shiro decided to take some time off from his daily life and vacation in a little coastal town. The town is quiet, the scenery is beautiful, and he can do whatever he wants with his time. So far so good, right? Well, it is, until the town starts buzzing with talk of "the witch" returning and causing some dangerous waters to arise. Those dangerous waters being Shiro trying to save a mysterious young man in the water and ending up being saved himself.This was written for the Shance Flower Exchange, the flower I got was Peony which can represent bashfulness, compassion, and romance.





	Peonies and Ocean Tides

Ocean brine filled the air, stinging the eyes and tainting every breath. The winds whipped off the water, battering anything in their way. Each crash of the tide against rocks echoed through the air. _The ocean has been mighty cruel lately._

 

Shiro hadn’t been in the small coastal town for very long, having arrived only a week prior, yet he was already familiar with many faces and in on most of the town gossip. The elderly lady, whose home he was staying in, was probably his favourite person in the town. She waited for him to return every night so that she could cook him dinner and tell him all about Helena’s supposed attempts at poisoning the book club, Victoria’s son being robbed of the math award, and the daily grocery store debates over whether coupons are actually worth it. Every night was something new; she never told the same piece of gossip twice – though she was very good about keeping tabs on anything ongoing. Shiro quite enjoyed their evenings together.

 

Last night was the first exception. Shiro remembered her worn, normally stable hands trembling as she poured him tea. He remembered how her face had been drained of all colour. How her eyes had darted from corner to corner, wall to wall, checking every inch of the small home as if she had been searching for something. He remembered how she had leaned in close, arms braced on the table as her pale green eyes bored in his skull.

 

“They say the witch is back, and she’s come with a vengeance. She’s been gone for a long time, but people have been talking of the omens, and the ocean has been mighty cruel lately.” Shiro did not get any more from the old woman that night; she had simply stood and headed off to bed, leaving Shiro to eat in uncomfortable silence.

 

The waves were dark and violent as Shiro watched them slam against the shore. He had gleaned only pieces of information during his morning walk to fill in the questions this supposed ‘witch’ had created for him. Apparently, the most prominent indication of her return was the ocean. He wasn’t entirely sure if he believed in this witch, but he could certainly see that the waters were far more dangerous than they had been just days before. There were no reports of storms making their way to the town.

 

He’d been on his usual run when something had brought him to a stuttering halt along the shore. There was a nagging feeling deep in his gut as he watched the raging waters: there was more to this than the villagers seemed to think. This sort of turbulence had to have a proper explanation behind it… right?

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro caught sight of a figure wearing only a pair of loose-fitting pants, wandering into the swells. His shouts of warning were lost to the howling winds that had suddenly picked up, and the figure made no signs of stopping. Shiro dashed towards the water, trying to yell over the noise of his surroundings. Finally, the figure seemed to notice, spinning around to look at Shiro. The last thing Shiro saw was a pair of brilliant blue eyes burning into him before an enormous wave came crashing down.

 

~

 

Shiro awoke with a gasp, head throbbing as he bolted up in bed. He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up in the soft, familiar sheets of his bed in the old woman’s house, nor was he sure why. He dug through his brain, trying to remember what had happened. Slowly, images started to piece together in his mind. Frothing waves, vicious winds, ocean eyes-

 

“You’re awake!” The old woman burst into his room, shuffling to his bed, “That’s wonderful, oh I was so worried about you. I thought I told you to stay away from the ocean, you dumb man.”

 

Her words may have been brisk, but Shiro could tell she was genuinely relieved he was okay. She paused to look him over for a minute before sighing and slowly perching on the edge of the bed. Her hand patted his cheek almost patronizingly as she clicked her tongue.

 

“Thank you, for taking care of me and worrying about me. I really appreciate your kindness.” Shiro hesitates for only a second before pushing onwards. “Could you tell me what happened?”

 

“Well, the local fire department apparently received a call from a young man that someone had almost drowned and needed immediate help. They arrived on scene to find you and presumably that same person on the shore. He told them he’d given you CPR and you had started breathing again but remained unconscious. So, they made sure you were stable and brought you here.”

 

“What about the young man? Did they say what he looked like?” Shiro’s questions came out in one breath, desperate to know more. He was sure this was the same person he’d seen in the water.

 

“Why do you need to know?” She stared at him with a mixture of confusion and concern, knowing there was more to the story than what the fire department knew.

 

Shiro clenched his jaw, unsure if he should tell her. But he needed more information. “I saw someone walking into the ocean, that’s why I ran in. I was trying to save them.”

 

He was not expecting her to laugh. “You silly tourist. People around here swim in stormy weather quite frequently; it’s a good challenge. I only told you to stay away from the waves because you have not experienced these waters enough to be able to swim in a storm. That same person was probably the one who saved you.”

 

“But…” Shiro was trying to process the fact that this whole ordeal very possibly had nothing to do with the witch, and was simply a result of him being a dumbass.

 

“Oh, my dear, it’s all alright now. Everyone is safe and that’s all that matters. Now, why don’t you change and then come join me for an early supper. You could probably use the extra rest tonight.” She stood without waiting for a response, tottering off down the stairs.

 

This town was doing things to him. He had almost started thinking there really was a witch... Shiro definitely needed the rest.

 

~

 

Shiro spent day after day pacing along the shore, trying to run into that person again. He’d asked the fire department if they knew who it was, but none of them did – odd for a town where everyone seems to know everyone. He asked all over town about his mysterious rescuer with the bottomless blue eyes, no one seemed to know.

 

Until someone did: a little girl with a round freckle-covered face and twin braids. She seemed to recognize who Shiro was talking about when he had been describing what he could remember of the person on the shore to her father.

 

The young girl spoke of a house on the water's edge – not too far from the village, but far enough that people rarely traveled there. She had apparently gone there on a walk with her older brother one day the week prior. They had been collecting shells for her school art project and had seen someone with eyes that looked like the ocean standing outside the house. She had waved at them, and they had grinned and waved back. But as soon as her brother had noticed, she was dragged away and told to never speak of it to anyone.

 

When Shiro had asked why she told him now, she had given the simple response that her brother had stolen the last package of animal crackers yesterday, so she no longer cared about what he told her to do. Shiro couldn’t argue with such sound logic.

 

The child’s father had immediately chastised her – for speaking about her brother as she did or for talking about the house, Shiro wasn’t sure. Then the man had turned to Shiro and asked, almost pleading, that he not go searching. If the person Shiro was looking for did live in that house, they were apparently someone he didn’t want to find.

 

Shiro refused to believe it.

 

~

 

The door swung open with an eerie creak, revealing only darkness within the lonely house. Shiro’s grip tightened around the bouquet.

 

“I see you’ve brought offerings.” The voice was quiet, yet rung crystal clear. A cold shiver swept down Shiro’s spine.

 

Suddenly there was light, bright and warm streaming through the open doorway where a figure stood. Shiro’s mind stumbled to catch up with whatever was happening. Blinding smile, eyes that looked like they held the tides themselves, and… jeans. Jeans and a t-shirt. Well fitted, mind you, clinging to a lean form in all the right ways. But jeans and a t-shirt nonetheless.

 

Laughter as warm as the sun melted Shiro’s thoughts and dragged him back to the realization that he was, in fact, in the presence of another person, whom he also happened to be ogling. His cheeks burned.

 

“I hope you know I was just teasing ya’. I don’t normally answer the door like that. Nor do I actually think those flowers are an offering, though I am assuming they’re still for me?” Shiro felt like a dusty old computer standing next to a polished new model. His mind was buffering as the beautiful boy dealt out much more than Shiro’s system could handle.

 

Finally, his brain seemed to catch up. “Yes! I mean, yeah, these are for you. I was uh… I was told that peonies stood for compassion and... bashfulness.” The last word was quiet, barely loud enough to hear as the heat rose in his face.

 

“Oh? And what is the compassion for?” came the lilting response. Shiro was without a doubt being teased by the stunning being in front of him, yet he didn’t think he minded.

 

“You think I could forget eyes like those?” At the very least he could try and dish out everything he was being served. “I know you’re the one I tried to save. And that... may have ended up saving me…” Never mind, he definitely couldn’t dish it out.

 

That beautiful laugh danced through the air again, making Shiro’s heart sing. “Hence the bashfulness.” Every feature on his face seemed to be lit up, and it took Shiro’s breath away.

 

He couldn’t help but smile back. “Hence the bashfulness.”

 

“Well, why don’t you come inside, and I can get those flowers a nice new home, Mr. I-Jump-in-the-Ocean-to-Save-People-I-Don’t-Even-Know.” The door swung wide as the young man spun on his heels and weaved his way deeper into the house, calling behind him. “I’m Lance by the way.”

 

Shiro stepped inside slowly, cautiously, still unsure about the lonely little home. He closed the door behind himself before making his way after Lance. He found himself in a beautiful kitchen, large and opening into a warm den. A beautiful glass doorway leading to a patio arched across one wall.

 

He leaned a hip against the counter next to Lance in an attempt to seem cool. “I’m Shiro, but you can call me your knight in soaked clothing if you like.” Shiro was bad at flirting, oh so very bad.

 

Thankfully, Lance seemed to be into bad flirting as he patted Shiro’s bicep. “Fitting.” His laughter was sweet and had Shiro’s chest tightening as Lance took the flowers from his hand. Shiro watched long slender fingers rearrange the flowers with ease, eyes tracing every movement.

 

He was broken from whatever spell he seemed to have fallen under when Lance stepped away from the counter, flowers, and vase in hand. He wandered over to the small table by the back door, placing the vase gently on top. Shiro’s eyes drifted from Lance as he shuffled a few other small plants around to the table outside. On it sat a… stone. A small, almost glowing, stone.

 

“You have, uh, interesting decoration sense.” Lance looked up at Shiro’s words, brows knit together in an adorable, quizzical expression. Shiro’s breath stuttered.

 

Finally, Lance’s gaze followed Shiro’s back to the patio and he erupted in giggles. “That’s not a decoration, that’s my _moonstone,_ silly. I’m charging it.”

 

Shiro’s mouth worked open and closed for a moment. “You’re charging a rock? Outside?”

 

Lance almost doubled over laughing. Shiro felt completely and utterly lost at this point.

 

When Lance had finally regained his composure, he wandered over to the glass door and pulled it open. Shiro watched as Lance plucked the moonstone from its spot on the patio table before sauntering back inside, not bothering to close the door.

 

“This is a moonstone. One use is to help you find inner stability and balance. It’s believed to gain its powers from the moon, which has control over the tides and is also believed to have control over our emotions. Moonstones must be charged with energy from the moon to be able to work properly, so you have to leave it out to charge for 3 nights, with the last night being the full moon.” Lance held the stone out to Shiro, rotating his palm around just enough for Shiro to watch the light catch the somewhat opaque, pearlescent stone, practically glowing from every angle.

 

Shiro’s eyes flicked back and forth between Lance’s face and the stone in his palm. He took a step back. “Are you a witch?”

 

Lance watched him, shoulders dropping with a sigh. “I suppose you could say that. It’s certainly what everyone else likes to call me.” He turned away from Shiro, placing the stone back outside. Watching the way Lance’s shoulders sat a little lower, his head slightly hung, eyes downcast, Shiro realized what he’d done.

 

He stepped up to Lance as soon as he was back in the door, earning a startled squeak out of the other. “I didn’t mean to upset you! I just… You hear a lot of things, even being in the town for such a short period of time. I’ve already heard so much about the local ‘witch’. I didn’t realize you’d be…”

 

“I’d be what? Old and wrinkly? Tricking children into my house to use as sacrifices to my demon overlords?” Lance stepped away from Shiro, face twisted into a pained sneer. “Well guess what? That’s nothing like what it actually means to be someone who practices magic! I treasure every living being, I give thanks to the Earth and sky for all that they give me, I believe in justice not from a legal system but from the universe, I have learned how to tap into and utilize the energy in our world, I believe in creatures that can utilize that energy far more than I ever could!” Shiro watched his chest heave as his anger built and words burst forth.

 

“Why does that make me so horrid?” Lance’s voice cracked. “Why does this all seem so impossible? We’ve barely explored five percent of our own oceans, yet we can say without a doubt there aren’t creatures unable to be seen by the untrained eye? And yes, I use my knowledge to encourage the raging tide – but since I have been gone, this village is throwing away the most amazing thing they have: the Earth around them!”

 

“This is our _home_.” Lance had to pause, voice shaky with emotion. “And home to so many others too. Yet they overfish and use the ocean like a garbage can. They treat the animals as fun toys rather than equally important living beings.” Lance raised his gaze to burn deep into Shiro’s very being, anger swirling in his beautiful blue eyes. “They do not care about anything they have been given, and the Earth has been too kind to them for too long. So yes! I do use magic to make the stormy waters you almost drowned in! But I’ve never harmed anyone before and it has never been my intention to do so!”

 

His voice petered off to barely above a whisper. “Yet I’m still seen as a monster.”

 

Lance stood still for a moment, tears pricking his eyes. “People come to me for remedies, advice, stones, all sorts of things. But if they don’t need me? Then I’m just some dangerous witch they tell their kids to stay away from.”

 

Shiro stood there, shocked and unsure of how to respond. He had never thought of all that. He had thought a simple apology would do the trick and everything would be fine. But Shiro had treated Lance the same as everyone else: dangerous until proven otherwise. “Lance,” he started.

 

Lance huffed out a bitter laugh. “I thought you were different, ya know? You were willing to risk your life for a complete stranger. You brought me flowers that represent romance! But you probably didn’t know that about them… and I was probably wrong about you.”

 

 

“No!” Shiro stepped closer, hands hovering in the air between them. “You weren’t wrong! Sort of, at least. I judged you conditionally, just like the others did. And that was wrong of me, I’m sorry. But I did know that peonies also mean romance. I know practically nothing about you, but I came here because I want to know more about you. _I want to get to know you_. And I am truly sorry for seeing you as I did.”

 

Lance stared at Shiro for a moment, bottom lip caught between his teeth, before a gentle smile tugged across his cheeks. “You knew they meant romance huh?” Shiro huffed out a laugh. “I’m sorry for blowing up at you like that... And I see you going to interrupt me! So, hold on.” Lance’s eyes were stern, but Shiro could see the corners of his lips turning up. “It was wrong of me to snap at you like that. It’s something I need to work on. None of that stuff is your fault, and I shouldn’t have gotten upset about all of it. Not saying it was wrong of me to get upset, just wrong of me to blame you for _all of it_.”

 

Shiro raised his hand as if to ask a question. Lance’s head dropped back as he laughed.

 

“I’ll take that as it being my turn to speak now.” Shiro couldn’t hold back the chuckle as he spoke. “I think we both made some mistakes here. Why don’t we start over?”

 

Lance popped one hip to the side, arms over his chest. “What did you have in mind?”

 

Shiro cleared his throat plucked a dripping peony from the vase, and took a step back. He then bowed deep, sweeping the hand with the peony in it out to Lance. “Would you do me the honour of joining me for lunch?”

 

He tilted his head up to watch Lance’s reaction, and boy was he glad he did.

 

Lance stood there, blinding grin hidden behind a hand as he stared down at Shiro with a soft fondness that almost had Shiro melting. As Lance nodded, laughter bubbling past his hand, Shiro knew he would never get tired of that sound.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a few hours late but I really hope my giftee still likes it. It was definitely a challenge to write on the fluffy side but I really enjoyed writing this piece! I hope my completely random au is to your tastes!


End file.
